This library in Vught, Netherlands, used to be a church.
De Petrus, Netherlands —
This library in Vught, Netherlands, used to be a church.
Molenaar & Bol & van Dillen Architects
The building was constructed in the 1800s and was in bad shape -- the local community came up with the idea of turning it into a library.
De Petrus, Netherlands —
The building was constructed in the 1800s and was in bad shape -- the local community came up with the idea of turning it into a library.
Molenaar & Bol & van Dillen Architects
This year the building was unveiled as De Petrus Meeting Center. The 32,291 feet (3,000 square meters) space features a library and other community facilities.
De Petrus, Netherlands —
This year the building was unveiled as De Petrus Meeting Center. The 32,291 feet (3,000 square meters) space features a library and other community facilities.
Molenaar & Bol & van Dillen Architects
The library has kept many of the church's original details, such as stained glass windows and arched roofs.
De Petrus, Netherlands —
The library has kept many of the church's original details, such as stained glass windows and arched roofs.
Molenaar & Bol & van Dillen Architects
The renovation was the work of Dutch firm Molenaar & Bol & Van Dillen Architects.
De Petrus, Netherlands —
The renovation was the work of Dutch firm Molenaar & Bol & Van Dillen Architects.
Molenaar & Bol & van Dillen Architects
This library was hailed as "the most beautiful library in China" on social media when it opened in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin in 2017.
Tianjin Binhai Library, China —
This library was hailed as "the most beautiful library in China" on social media when it opened in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin in 2017.
courtesy Ossip van Duivenbode
The 33,700-square-meter library is one of the five main attractions in the Binhai Cultural Center, the city's new recreational district.
Tianjin Binhai Library, China —
The 33,700-square-meter library is one of the five main attractions in the Binhai Cultural Center, the city's new recreational district.
courtesy Ossip van Duivenbode
The new structure has a sleek futuristic design featuring a luminous spherical auditorium space in the center, created by the Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and Tianjin's Urban Planning Design Institute.
Tianjin Binhai Library, China —
The new structure has a sleek futuristic design featuring a luminous spherical auditorium space in the center, created by the Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and Tianjin's Urban Planning Design Institute.
courtesy Ossip van Duivenbode
The atrium of the library is shaped like an eye. According to the architectural firm, "The eye is a recognizable feature of the design visible from inside and outside but also a fully functioning atrium with a capacity of 110."
Tianjin Binhai Library, China —
The atrium of the library is shaped like an eye. According to the architectural firm, "The eye is a recognizable feature of the design visible from inside and outside but also a fully functioning atrium with a capacity of 110."
courtesy Ossip van Duivenbode
In 2013, James Campbell and Will Pryce published <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.uchicago.edu%2Fucp%2Fbooks%2Fbook%2Fchicago%2FL%2Fbo16956670.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Library: A World History</a>, billed as the most complete account of library buildings to date. James Campbell and Will Pryce included this 12th century abbey in their line up. Milena Veselinovic interviewed them about their favorite libraries. <br />
Strahov Abbey library, Czech Republic —
In 2013, James Campbell and Will Pryce published The Library: A World History, billed as the most complete account of library buildings to date. James Campbell and Will Pryce included this 12th century abbey in their line up. Milena Veselinovic interviewed them about their favorite libraries.
Will Pryce
<strong>Will Pryce</strong>: "This is best solution I have seen to the problems of building a library on a contemporary scale. From the outside it's a simple rectangle but inside a series of voids have been opened up creating a complete variety of spaces to work. There are secluded areas for those who like to be surrounded by books and more open ones for those who prefer to be around people. It seemed hugely popular with the students."<br />
Utrecht University Library, Utrecht, Netherlands —
Will Pryce: "This is best solution I have seen to the problems of building a library on a contemporary scale. From the outside it's a simple rectangle but inside a series of voids have been opened up creating a complete variety of spaces to work. There are secluded areas for those who like to be surrounded by books and more open ones for those who prefer to be around people. It seemed hugely popular with the students."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbel</strong>l: "Outside it looks like a white box, so there is an element of surprise when you go in. All light comes through the stones in the wall, and the honey-color trickle of sun rays makes it magical. It is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The elegance of the Beinecke later inspired the glass-walled structure that holds the original core collection of the British Library."<br />
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, U.S. —
James Campbell: "Outside it looks like a white box, so there is an element of surprise when you go in. All light comes through the stones in the wall, and the honey-color trickle of sun rays makes it magical. It is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The elegance of the Beinecke later inspired the glass-walled structure that holds the original core collection of the British Library."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbell</strong>: "This is perhaps the largest high school library ever constructed. From the outside it looks like a severe brick box punctured by windows. The inside is completely different. The main space rises the whole height of the building and the bookcases are behind the dominating concrete structure. Students can read with privacy on carrels next to the windows which they can decorate with their own possessions."
Philips Exeter Academy Library, U.S. —
James Campbell: "This is perhaps the largest high school library ever constructed. From the outside it looks like a severe brick box punctured by windows. The inside is completely different. The main space rises the whole height of the building and the bookcases are behind the dominating concrete structure. Students can read with privacy on carrels next to the windows which they can decorate with their own possessions."
Will Pryce
In a beautiful cross-pollination of the arts, one of the world's most stunning places to read isn't even a library -- it's a theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Designed by Pero and Torres Arngol, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid started life as a stage for the performing arts in 1919, then a cinema. Once upon a time live tango played from an orchestra underneath silent movies. Now it's a majestic bookstore, complete with frescoes, balconies and original red curtains.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Argentina —
In a beautiful cross-pollination of the arts, one of the world's most stunning places to read isn't even a library -- it's a theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Designed by Pero and Torres Arngol, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid started life as a stage for the performing arts in 1919, then a cinema. Once upon a time live tango played from an orchestra underneath silent movies. Now it's a majestic bookstore, complete with frescoes, balconies and original red curtains.
Niels Mickers
<strong>James Campbell</strong>: "The Mafra Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal is at 88 meters the longest Rococo monastic library in the world. Sadly the original designs are lost but we think it would have been covered in gold leaf with an ornate painted ceiling. However, because the construction lasted from 1717 to 1771, by the time it was completed a simplified decoration was adopted. The library also hosts a colony of bats who come out at night to feed on the insects who would otherwise eat the books."
Mafra Palace Library, Portugal —
James Campbell: "The Mafra Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal is at 88 meters the longest Rococo monastic library in the world. Sadly the original designs are lost but we think it would have been covered in gold leaf with an ornate painted ceiling. However, because the construction lasted from 1717 to 1771, by the time it was completed a simplified decoration was adopted. The library also hosts a colony of bats who come out at night to feed on the insects who would otherwise eat the books."
Will Pryce
<strong>Will Pryce</strong>: "Visiting this library was an extraordinary, if fraught, experience. We hiked up a mountain only to be told that we weren't allowed to photograph the interior. Fortunately we had a Korean student of James's with us who pleaded with the Abbott and little by little we negotiated our way in. First we could take a picture through the door, then from just inside and so on. The collection is revelatory because you realize that you are looking, not at books, but printing blocks and that they date from 1251 -- reminding us that the Koreans were printing for centuries before Gutenberg."
Tripitaka Koreana, South Korea —
Will Pryce: "Visiting this library was an extraordinary, if fraught, experience. We hiked up a mountain only to be told that we weren't allowed to photograph the interior. Fortunately we had a Korean student of James's with us who pleaded with the Abbott and little by little we negotiated our way in. First we could take a picture through the door, then from just inside and so on. The collection is revelatory because you realize that you are looking, not at books, but printing blocks and that they date from 1251 -- reminding us that the Koreans were printing for centuries before Gutenberg."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbell</strong>: "This is the oldest surviving Chinese library, dating from 1561. It is very dark because you were not intended to read inside, but to take your book to the garden or perhaps your room. The books have since been removed so this is the last picture that will ever be taken with the books on the their original shelves."
Tianyi Chamber, China —
James Campbell: "This is the oldest surviving Chinese library, dating from 1561. It is very dark because you were not intended to read inside, but to take your book to the garden or perhaps your room. The books have since been removed so this is the last picture that will ever be taken with the books on the their original shelves."
Will Pryce
<strong>Will Pryce</strong>: "This is an extraordinary space, a temple to the industrial age which creates an almost cathedral-like effect. There are thousands of books wherever you look and gorgeous ornate balustrades. Despite all the classical details it's actually made of iron and spans the weight of this huge library above the concert hall below."<br />
The Peabody Library, U.S. —
Will Pryce: "This is an extraordinary space, a temple to the industrial age which creates an almost cathedral-like effect. There are thousands of books wherever you look and gorgeous ornate balustrades. Despite all the classical details it's actually made of iron and spans the weight of this huge library above the concert hall below."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbel</strong>l: "This is the closest you can get to what a medieval library looked like. It was built for Malatesta Novello, a member of a prominent Italian aristocratic family, and it still contains original books, in their original places."
Biblioteka Malatestiana, Italy —
James Campbell: "This is the closest you can get to what a medieval library looked like. It was built for Malatesta Novello, a member of a prominent Italian aristocratic family, and it still contains original books, in their original places."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbell</strong>: "Although the building was completed in 1373 and is one of the oldest academic libraries in the world still in continuous daily use, the fittings date from the late sixteenth century. It is less ornate than Rococo libraries in palace or monastery complexes, because universities did not have access to the same amount of money, but it is still extraordinarily beautiful."
Merton College Library, UK —
James Campbell: "Although the building was completed in 1373 and is one of the oldest academic libraries in the world still in continuous daily use, the fittings date from the late sixteenth century. It is less ornate than Rococo libraries in palace or monastery complexes, because universities did not have access to the same amount of money, but it is still extraordinarily beautiful."
Will Pryce
<strong>Will Pryc</strong>e: "It's an extraordinary piece of design, a statement of confidence by the Venetian Republic. It lies at the center of Jacopo Sansovino's scheme to re-design St Mark's square, though the building was completed after his death. The vestibule houses the Grimani collection of classical sculpture under a ceiling by Titian. While the original lecterns have gone, the superb interior design of the library gives us a sense of the richness of Venetian cultural life in this period."
Biblioteca Marciana, Italy —
Will Pryce: "It's an extraordinary piece of design, a statement of confidence by the Venetian Republic. It lies at the center of Jacopo Sansovino's scheme to re-design St Mark's square, though the building was completed after his death. The vestibule houses the Grimani collection of classical sculpture under a ceiling by Titian. While the original lecterns have gone, the superb interior design of the library gives us a sense of the richness of Venetian cultural life in this period."
Will Pryce
<strong>Will Pryce</strong>: "Arts End is one of most lovely corners of the group of libraries that constitute the Bodleian. Under the galleries there are little desks where readers face the bookshelves of one of the earliest wall-system libraries."
The Bodleian Library, UK —
Will Pryce: "Arts End is one of most lovely corners of the group of libraries that constitute the Bodleian. Under the galleries there are little desks where readers face the bookshelves of one of the earliest wall-system libraries."
Will Pryce
<strong>James Campbell</strong>: "This is one of the largest monastic libraries ever built. The whole thing is a complete work of art. The corridors and staircase that leads to it is relatively simple, so when you enter this stunning space flooded with light there is almost a moment of revelation, a theatrical effect. There are no desks to work at because these library rooms were never intended for study, but for impressing visitors. The books were taken back to the monks' warm cells to be read. It was built in 1776, a piece de resistance of rococo design."
Admont Abbey library, Austria —
James Campbell: "This is one of the largest monastic libraries ever built. The whole thing is a complete work of art. The corridors and staircase that leads to it is relatively simple, so when you enter this stunning space flooded with light there is almost a moment of revelation, a theatrical effect. There are no desks to work at because these library rooms were never intended for study, but for impressing visitors. The books were taken back to the monks' warm cells to be read. It was built in 1776, a piece de resistance of rococo design."
Will Pryc
<strong>Will Pryce</strong>: "This is a very imposing library from a time when Portugal was extremely wealthy and powerful. It is very dark but features intricate gold leaf which gives it magical luminosity. The backs of the bookcases each have different color, and there are integrated ladders that pull out, and secret doors that lead to reading rooms."
Biblioteca Joanina, Portugal —
Will Pryce: "This is a very imposing library from a time when Portugal was extremely wealthy and powerful. It is very dark but features intricate gold leaf which gives it magical luminosity. The backs of the bookcases each have different color, and there are integrated ladders that pull out, and secret doors that lead to reading rooms."
Will Pryce
<strong>WIill Pryce</strong>: "This library was ground-breaking. It established the template of using books to decorate the walls of the library which we've been using ever since. The great hall is a harmonious combination of bookshelves, books and a wonderful painted ceiling. It was complete by 1585 and influenced everything that followed it."<br />
The Escorial Library, Spain —
WIill Pryce: "This library was ground-breaking. It established the template of using books to decorate the walls of the library which we've been using ever since. The great hall is a harmonious combination of bookshelves, books and a wonderful painted ceiling. It was complete by 1585 and influenced everything that followed it."
Will Pryce